Saturday, June 29, 2013

McGOLDRICK, Mikki 1942 ~
2013 A star was born when Mikki McGoldrick, daughter of Jim and Milaine
McGoldrick, arrived on November 13, 1942 in Sacred Heart Hospital, Spokane,
Washington. Even as a young girl Mikki aspired to become an actress. Fueled by
dreams and determination she headed south for Hollywood after graduating from
Lewis and Clark High School in 1960. Under the advice of family friend Eric
Johnston (President of the American Motion Picture Association of America), she
enrolled in the Pasadena Playhouse taking up residence in the Hollywood Studio
Club. Her inquisitive mind and commitment to on-going learning and education
led her to complete a two-year program at Lost Angeles City College while
pursuing her acting dream at the same time. With confidence (and some degree of
naivete) she approached Jack Warner one evening at a Hollywood gathering and
introduced herself as Mikki McGoldrick from Spokane, Washington. He was
impressed and it wasn't long before she had a contract with Warner Brothers Studio
and was featured as their Deb Star of the Year, an honor bestowed on Natalie
Wood not too many years previously. While under contract with Warner Brothers
(under her professional name Mikki Jamison), she performed in many of their
popular series programs like Wagon Train, Maverick, Adam 12, Seventy-Seven
Sunset Strip, The Donna Reed Show, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and
yes, she did date her teenage idol Ricky Nelson and there's a picture to prove
it. As her career was blossoming, she took a leave of absence for marriage and
motherhood. Her son Jaimie Trueblood was born in 1971. (Many years later Jaimie
went on to become a talented photographer and is a much sought after
"stills" photographer in the motion picture industry.) In the mid
1970s she returned to acting with roles in the Wonder Woman series and two
movies, Poco, Little Lost Dog and The Sea Gypsies. Unfortunately the demands of
movie making and motherhood were not compatible, so she pursued a new career
and became a licensed real estate broker in the Los Angeles area for a number
of years. She and her childhood friend, Carol Capra, also partnered up in real
estate in the Spokane area many years later. Mikki's love of the lakes and
family brought her back to the Pacific Northwest every summer where Jaimie
along with his cousins Petyr and Virgil Beck developed their own connections,
to each other and to those special places, Lake Coeur d'Alene and Lake Pend
Oreille. Once a Spokanite, always a Spokanite. The draw of the Pacific
Northwest was strong and in 1990 Mikki moved back to her hometown bringing her
future husband with her. On Christmas Eve, 1992 she and John Rovtar were
married and John introduced the community to his interior design talents
establishing John Rovtar Design Studio. Over the years Mikki's movie star craze
was superseded by the "travel bug" and she became a tour director
leading tours across the country from the Canadian Rockies to Nova Scotia. That
"travel bug" acted up on multiple occasions. She was always
researching the next trip. Of course a primary object of her investigations
always included the best restaurants. Anybody familiar with Mikki was aware of
her passion for food. On one occasion she was observed asking the server what
the best dessert might be. When informed there were three favorites, she
ordered and ate all three. Mikki pursued her passions with cheerful enthusiasm
and high spirits. Although grandmothering was something that came late for her,
she entered into it with all the excitement and imagination one might predict.
Where for so long there were none, suddenly there was one, then two, three, and
four. Mikki was in her element. Who says all good things happen while we're
young? Perhaps it is fitting that Mikki's last days were spent "up at the
lake" getting her boats cleaned and ready for the arrival of the
grandchildren. Following in her father's footsteps, she and her husband John
had become recent members in the Inland Empire Chapter of the Antique and
Classic Boat Society and were looking forward to forging new friendships and
sharing the boating tradition with their grandchildren. Her years both at Coeur
d'Alene and at Lake Pend Oreille were deeply engrained in her nature and were
an integral part of who she was. Mikki is survived by her mother, Milaine
McGoldrick; husband, John Rovtar; son, Jaimie Trueblood, daughter-in-law, Amber
Trueblood, grandchildren, Cameron, Dylan, Mason, and Ethan; sister, Molly
McGoldrick Beck, brother-in-law, Barry Provorse; "as good as a
sister," Carol Ealy Capra; nephews Petyr and Virgil Beck and their
children Kyle, Tess, Violet, Sage, and Mica; uncle, Ray Betts; cousins, Anne
Wagstaff (Peter), Wendy Flynn (Larry), Lisa Johns (Justin), Ann
Ferguson-Venegas, John Lally (Polly), Lee Letsch (Taysa), Scott Letsch, Paul
Ferguson, Tom Pendarvis; her husband John's children, Angie and Justin and
grandchild Luca; numerous McGoldrick cousins, and a cat named Blackie. A
memorial gathering will be held at the Manito Golf and Country Club on
Saturday, June 22nd at 1:00 pm. If one so desires, a contribution in her honor
can be made to the Spokane Humane Society (6607 N. Havana St., Spokane, WA
99217) or to a charity of one's choice.
Like her mother and sister, Mikki was an animal lover.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Richard Matheson, one of the most iconic writers in
America has died aged 87 according to his daughter who posted the information
on Twitter. The I Am Legend creator has died after a long battle with an
undisclosed illness.

Richard Burton Matheson was born on February 20, 1926 and
died on June 24, 2013. He was an American author and screenwriter, who worked
primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is perhaps
best known as the author of The Shrinking Man, Hell House, What Dreams May
Come, Bid Time Return (filmed as Somewhere in Time), A Stir of Echoes, and I Am
Legend.

All of the above mentioned books have been adapted as
major motion pictures, the last at least three times with Will Smith playing
the doomed character in I Am Legend. Matheson also wrote several television
episodes of The Twilight Zone for Rod Serling, including “Nightmare at 20,000
Feet” and “Steel”. He later adapted his 1971 short story Duel as a screenplay
which was promptly directed by a young Steven Spielberg, for the TV movie of
the same name.

Matheson was born in Allendale, New Jersey. He was the
son of Norwegian immigrants Fanny (née Mathieson) and Bertolf Matheson, a tile
floor installer. Matheson was raised in Brooklyn and graduated from Brooklyn
Technical High School in 1943. He entered the military and spent World War II
as an infantry soldier.

In 1949 he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism
from the University of Missouri and moved to California in 1951. He married
Ruth Ann Woodson on July 1, 1952 and has four children, three of whom (Chris,
Richard Christian, and Ali Matheson) are writers of fiction and screenplays.

Matheson wrote 14 episodes for the iconic American
television series The Twilight Zone, including Steel and the famous Nightmare at
20,000 Feet which became the most legendary and iconic episode of the cult
favourite series. He also wrote Little Girl Lost, a story about a young girl
tumbling into the fourth dimension.

On all of Matheson’s scripts for The Twilight Zone, he
also wrote the introductory and closing statements spoken by creator Rod
Serling. He adapted the works of Edgar Allan Poe for Roger Corman, and Dennis
Wheatley’s The Devil Rides Out for Hammer Films. He also contributed a number
of scripts to the Warner Bros. western series Lawman between 1958 and 1962. He
wrote the Star Trek episode The Enemy Within which is considered one of the
best episodes of the television series.

In 1973, Matheson earned an Edgar Award from the Mystery
Writers of America for his teleplay for The Night Stalker, one of two TV movies
written by Matheson that preceded the series Kolchak: The Night Stalker.
Matheson also wrote the screenplay for Fanatic (The US title was, Die! Die! My
Darling!), starring Tallulah Bankhead and Stefanie Powers.

The legendary horror novelist Stephen King has listed
Matheson as a creative influence and his novel Cell is dedicated to Matheson.
As well as Stephen King filmmaker George A. Romero has also frequently
acknowledged Richard Matheson as an inspiration and listed the shambling
vampire creatures that appear in the first film version of I Am Legend (Which
starred Vincent Price in the lead role.) as the inspiration for the zombie
“ghouls” he created in Night of the Living Dead.

Anne Rice stated that when she was a child, Matheson’s
short story “A Dress Of White Silk” was an early influence on her interest in
vampires and fantasy fiction.

Richard Matheson received the World Fantasy Award for
Life Achievement in 1984 and the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement
from the Horror Writers Association in 1991. The Science Fiction Hall of Fame
inducted him in 2010.

At the annual World Fantasy Conventions he won two
judged, annual literary awards for specific works which included the World
Fantasy Awards for Bid Time Return as the best novel of 1975 and Richard
Matheson: Collected Stories as the best collection of 1989.

As a writer Richard Matheson can be seen as one of the
most influential, if not the most influential person in the Science Fiction,
Horror, and Fantasy genres. His work and creations which have scared,
entertained, and enthralled readers for generations will continue to do so long
after his death.

The news that Richard Matheson has died aged 87 by his
daughter via Twitter has stunned the world. The 87 year-old author died after a
long battle with an undisclosed illness. T

His daughter said it best on her Facebook wall when she
wrote of his death. It said, “My beloved father passed away yesterday at home
surrounded by the people and things he loved…he was funny, brilliant, loving,
generous, kind, creative, and the most wonderful father ever…I miss you and
love you forever Pop and I know you are now happy and healthy in a beautiful
place full of love and joy you always knew was there…”

The I Am Legend writer was a fictional creator who had no
peers and was a man who wrote legends of his own. R.I.P. Richard Matheson, a
literary giant.

Elliott "Ted" Reid, 93, a longtime character
actor in films and on television, stage and radio who played opposite Marilyn
Monroe and Jane Russell in the classic comedy "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,"
died Friday in Studio City, said his nephew Roger R. Jackson.

Reid died of heart failure at an assisted living facility
where he had resided in recent years, his nephew said.

Although Reid had a number of dramatic roles, he was best
known for his comic touch in such films as "Gentlemen Prefer
Blondes."

In that 1953 movie, Reid memorably played Ernie Malone, a
private investigator hired to keep track of Monroe's character, Lorelei Lee,
who is suspected of being a gold digger by her fiance's wealthy father. Along
the way, Malone falls for Monroe's best friend, Dorothy Shaw, played by
Russell.

Reid also played Fred MacMurray's self-important romantic
rival in Disney's "The Absent-Minded Professor" in 1961 and its 1963
sequel, "Son of Flubber," as well as a local prosecuting attorney in
"Inherit the Wind" in 1960.

A gifted mimic, Reid developed an impersonation of
President Kennedy, which he performed for the president at a 1962 Washington
dinner. Time magazine reported that the president was "convulsed" by
the performance.

Edgeworth Blair Reid — he later took Elliott as his stage
name — was born Jan. 16, 1920, in New York City. His father, Blair Reid, was a
banker, and his mother, Christine Challenger Reid, an artist. At 15, he landed
a role on the radio program "The March of Time," where he worked with
Orson Welles, who later invited him to join his Mercury Theatre company, doing
both radio and stage productions. Reid became a regular.

In addition to his film and radio work, Reid appeared often
on television series and variety shows. He was a regular guest on shows hosted
by Dinah Shore and Jack Paar in the 1950s and a cast member on the U.S. version
of David Frost's 1960s political satire program "That Was the Week That
Was." He also appeared in episodes of "I Love Lucy," "Perry
Mason" and "Murder, She Wrote," among many others.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Mexican filmmaker Miguel Morayta died yesterday June 19th
of natural causes at age 105 years of natural causes.

In an interview with Ricardo Morayta, son of the director,
explained that the death of his father was because of his age, a few months shy
of 106 years, "He had no disease, just his heart was very tired and
stopped beating."

He recalled that his father was a person very dear to the
film community of the Golden Age, but unfortunately his colleagues of those
years all went ahead of him, "My father was the longest-serving director
in history."

The last movie that he filmed was "Los amantes fríos"
(1977), but his son said he never stopped writing, even though he was retired,
"He made many films in the Golden Age, and we know that he will be remembered
for many of them. "

He said that education was what father left them,
"Because he was always hardworking, dedicated, honest and with many
principles, which he taught us from childhood".

Ricardo said he would like a tribute to made in memory of
his father, "Because he deserves it, he was a man who gave so much to his
country, was much loved in Mexico and in countries like Spain, where he wrote
several books ".

At the funeral, held at a funeral home in Colonia Roma,
went yesterday family, friends and representatives of the guild cinematic,
including Victor Ugalde, president of the Mexican Society of
Directors-Directors of Audiovisual Works.

Ugalde recalled that besides being a prolific film
director and writer, Miguel Morayta was founder of the Mexican Society of
Directors-Directors of Audiovisual Works, the Union of Cinema Production
Workers and the General Society of Writers in Mexico.

The filmmaker, who was born on August 15, 1907 in Spain
but lived the past six decades in Mexico, he was director of over 70 films and
writer of more than 50, among which " El médico de las locas" (1955)
, ""¡Ay Jalisco no te rajes!" (1964) and "Capulina contra
los monstruos" (1973), to name a few.

A Morayta, who in 1988 received the Gold Medal of Merit
of the Director for 50 years of work in film, he is survived by his sons
Richard and Michael, and six grandchildren.

Katherine (Kate) Woodville (4 December 1938 – 5 June
2013; age 74) was an English actress who was quite prolific during the 1960s
and 1970s, appearing in a number of movies and guest-starring in several
television series, including Mission: Impossible (1968 with Joseph Campanella),
the Kung Fu episode "The Gunman" (with Andrew Prine), the World War
II TV miniseries The Rhinemann Exchange (1977 with Stephen Collins, Rene
Auberjonois, John Hoyt, and Jeremy Kemp), and Days of our Lives (1977). The
murder of her character in the first episode of The Avengers was the driving
force of the first year, and the reason for the title. She married The Avengers
star Patrick Macnee in 1965, but they divorced four years later. She later
married Edward Laurence Albert in 1978 and they remained married until his
death in September 2006. Katherine passed away on June 5 after a decade-long
battle with cancer. She was 74.

Monday, June 17, 2013

Nine-time Emmy nominated costume designer Grady Hunt
died May 5 in Hollywood. He was 91.

Born on May 16, 1921 in Lone Oak, Texas, the costumer
began his career — after serving in the Navy during WWII — by opening a couture
shop called Gradis in Dallas, Texas. After moving to Los Angeles in the 1950s,
his first project was designing costumes for then-theater director Aaron
Spelling.

Hunt was a costumer for Columbia Pictures for 15 years,
and is most remembered for his work on “The Milton Berle Show,” “Saturday Night
Review” and the “Colgate Comedy Hour” as well as styling such stars as Anne Baxter,
Joan Crawford, Eartha Kitt, Ruta Lee and Donna Wynter.

Film and sound editor David Campling, who worked on such
films as “Platoon” and “The Terminator,” died May 9 in Los Angeles of cancer.
He was 73.

Campling earned a BAFTA nomination for his sound work on
1971’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” directed by John Schlesinger and was nominated
for an MPSE Golden Reel award for “Platoon.”

Trained at Pinewood and Twickenham Studios, Campling’s
sound editing career began with Roman Polanski’s 1966 “Cul-de-sac.” He did
sound work on such varied films as “The Day of the Locust” and “Carry on
Doctor.”

Most of his editing work was for TV including MTV’s
“Undressed” and telepics such as “Knots Landing: Back to the Cul de Sac” and
“Through the Eyes of a Killer.”

A longtime BAFTA Los Angeles board member who did a stint
as treasurer, he produced the org’s tribute to Schlesinger at the Egyptian
Theater in 2002. He co-founded the Heritage Archive project and was responsible
for the taping and editing of many of the most popular interviews in the
series.

He was also a member of the Motion Picture Sound Editors
guild.

“BAFTA Los Angeles is saddened to learn of the passing of
long time member and dear friend, David Campling,” the org said in a statement.
“He was a dear friend of BAFTA Los Angeles.”

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Evaristo Marquez died from cardiac arrest in Cartagena,
Columbia. He was 73.

Born on August 23, 1939, in a family of African descent
devoted to agriculture in Palenquera, Marquez became known internationally
following his participation in the film “Quemada” (1969) where he co-starred opposite
film star, Marlon Brando directed by Gillo Pontecorvo.

Before his involvement with Pontecorvo he was a herdsman
and he was illiterate. Márquez appeared in three more movies during the 1970s
including his only Euro-western “Lucky Johnny: Born in America (aka Dead Aim)
(1975). With the decline of his film career, Márquez returned to work as a herdsman.

Of his experience
with Brando, Márquez said "he never made me feel inferior to him, he
regarded me as a brother", and "indeed, there was no one like Brando;
that way of changing the expression of his face, of his eyes; even more, he was
a brave man."

In 2008 Márquez appeared in “Chimbumbe”, a short film
shown at the Cartagena Film Festival.

In August 2010 Márquez appeared in “El Tambor Magico”, a short
film made by San Basilio de Palenque children.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Veteran Hong Kong actress Soh Hang-suen has died after
battling diabetes in Hong Kong Queen Elizabeth Hospital. She was 61.

So is a former TVB actor who graduated from TVB's first
artistes' training course in 1972. She had taken part in more than ten TVB
dramas including "Police Cadet 1988", "The File Of Justice"
and "Detective Investigation Files".

She was awarded with the Best Supporting Actress award
for her performance in the award-winning film "Life Without
Principle" in 31st Hong Kong Film Awards. She was unable to attend the
event due to her bad health condition at that time.

In an interview in April 2012, the actress revealed that
she had had her toe amputated after it became necrotic. She lamented that she
had become more wistful after facing so many difficulties and challenges in her
life.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Gianni Manera
died in a Rome hospital June 10, 2013 after a long illness born Colleferro Gianni
Manera, director, screenwriter, actor, journalist. He was 73 years old.

At his bedside was his daughter Alma, singer-actress
(born from the marriage with director Maria Pia Liotta) and his brother painter
Enrico Manera.

Gianni was born in Asmara, February 18 1940 and became
known to Italian film goers thanks to his debut film as a writer and director
in 1972’s "La Lunga Ombra Del Lupo", which cost him an arrest by the
Prosecutor of the Republic of Bologna with the accusation: "Incitement to incite
an armed riot through an ideological tool." His other famous titles are “Ordine
Firmato in bianco”, “Cappotto di legno” e “Tragedy in New York”. He won
numerous awards both nationally and internationally.

In his films he directed prestigious actors such as
Michel Constantin, Fred Williamson, Don Murray. Gianni Manera was one of the
first directors of independent film.

He started his career very young, first as an actor (he
was an integral part of the theater company of RAI in Turin) and then as a
director. Anton Giulio Majano chose him for one of his first TV series,
"Lieutenant Sheridan," and again for Rai he starred in "Life of
Dante" with Giorgio Albertazzi. He worked with Alberto Lupo, Luisa
Rivelli, Maurizio Arena, Michele Palcido and Philipe Leroy.

Manera was involved in two Euro-westerns appearing as an
actor in “7 Dollars to Kill” (1966) starring Anthony Steffen and Fernando
Sancho and “A Wreath for the Bandits” (1968) for which he also wrote the
screenplay:

Maxine Stuart, 94, a stage, film and TV actress whose
long career included memorable guest appearances on "The Twilight
Zone" and "The Wonder Years," died Thursday of natural causes at
her Beverly Hills home, according to her daughter, Chris Ann Maxwell.

Stuart began her career in New York theater and had a
handful of small movie parts but was best known for her television work. In the
early 1950s she appeared in dramatic anthology programs and was a regular on
"The Edge of Night" soap opera.

After moving to Los Angeles in the late '50s with her
then-husband, character actor Frank Maxwell, she was cast in a string of
television series. In a 1960 episode of "The Twilight Zone" titled
"Eye of the Beholder," she portrayed a woman covered in bandages
awaiting her 11th surgical operation to correct her appearance. Stuart played
the part until the bandages were removed, when actress Donna Douglas was
revealed at the end of the show.

Stuart received an Emmy nomination in 1989 for her guest
role as a piano teacher in "The Wonder Years." Her career stretched
into the early 2000s and included parts on television in "Dr.
Kildare," "Peyton Place," "Murphy Brown," "NYPD
Blue," "Chicago Hope" and "Judging Amy."

In 1993, she joined the CBS daytime drama "The Young
and the Restless" for a story line about an older couple. William J. Bell,
the show's co-creator, cast Stuart after seeing her play an intern on
"Murphy Brown."

"She epitomized what I wanted – someone who brought
a feistiness, a vitality and energy with her, who's gregarious and
fun-loving," Bell told The Times in 1993.

Stuart, then in her 70s, agreed that she still had plenty
of energy. "When you're 20, you think, 'Oh, my God, if I ever get to be
30, I'll be so old.' But when you get to be this age, if you don't look in the mirror — or see yourself on TV — you don't know."

She was born Maxine Shlivek on June 28, 1918, in Deal,
N.J. She and Maxwell divorced in 1963, and she married writer David Shaw in
1974. He died in 2007.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Actor-turned-restaurateur Harry Lewis -- he founded the
Hamburger Hamlet chain of restaurants, and later Kate Mantilini -- has died. He
was 93.

Lewis starred alongside the likes of Humphrey Bogart and
Edward G. Robinson in 1948's "Key Largo" and had a long list of other
film and TV credits. But he was perhaps best known for opening Hamburger Hamlet
in 1950 along with the noted celebrity clothing designer who would become his
wife. Harry and Marilyn Lewis would expand the Hamburger Hamlet chain to 24
locations before selling it in the late 1980s for about $30 million.

Lewis' Hollywood connections served him well during his
time at the helm of Hamburger Hamlet. Among the restaurant's regulars: Ronald
Reagan, Tony Curtis and Sammy Davis Jr.

Hamburger Hamlet was known for customized burgers with
audacious toppings long before it became the trendy thing to do, as well as an
eclectic mix of other homey, comforting fair. Essentially, the Lewises served
food that they themselves would enjoy eating.

Lewis and his wife opened several other restaurants as
well, including Kate Mantilini in Beverly Hills. It became the backdrops for
that famed scene in 1995's "Heat," when Robert De Niro and Al Pacino
shared the movie screen for the first time.

Harry and Marilyn Lewis would turn the reins of Kate
Mantilini over to their sons in 2009. Their colorful relationship provided much
fodder for Marilyn's memoir, "Marilyn, Are You Sure You Can Cook?"

Harry Lewis died Sunday at a convalescent home in Beverly
Hills, where he had lived for the past two years.

Lewis is survived by his wife, Marilyn, as well as sons
David and Adam and five grandchildren. Burial arrangements are underway.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

He collaborated with filmmakers such as Carlos Saura,
Victor Erice and Fernando Leon, among others

Film producer Elías Querejeta died today at age 78 in
Madrid, sources told Efe the Federation of Spanish Audiovisual Producers
(FAPAE).

His death has occurred at 6 am on Sunday, according to
the sources, who have pointed out that his remains will be transferred to the
13 hours a Funeral Home of La Paz (Tres Cantos, Madrid).

The film producer, father of director Grace Querejeta,
worked with numerous filmmakers such as Carlos Saura in 'La caza', Victor Erice
in the award-winning 'El espíritu de la colmena' and more recently with
Fernando Leon de Aranoa in ''Los lunes al sol'.

His latest works as a producer have been 'Siete mesas de
billar francés' (2007) and 'Cerca de tus ojos' (2009), which also was his
directorial debut.

He has received numerous awards such as the Luis Buñuel
film (1980), the National Film Award (1986), Europa Cinema Award for Best
European producer in the Italian Festival of Rimini (1987) and the Gold Medal
of the Spanish Academy Film (1998).

Querejeta was the producer of one Euro-western: “Yankee
Dudler” (1973).

Friday, June 7, 2013

A bit clumsy, with the look of a bewildered puppy - Eddi
Arent has become famous for his performances in the Edgar Wallace movies. The
Wallace thrillers belong to the escapism of the late post-war period, but when
you look at them today, they are kind of amazing in their quirky humor. Arent
died in Munich, Germany on May 28, 2013. He was 88

Arent was born on May 5, 1925 in Gdansk, after the war he
began initially as a comedian. He was actually a comedian, not an actor
directly, unlike most of his colleagues, he did not come out of the theater.
The comic roles gave him an interest in the cinema, in the first of the Wallace
films, “Der Frosch mit der Maske” (1959) and then also he had more comic performances,
as the cinema put out more adventures, with Karl May Arent was in the
"Treasure of Silver Lake" (1962) the butterfly addicted Lord Castlepool.

As the cinema changed in the seventies of the New German
Cinema supplanted the postwar cinema, Arent had not done a lot of movies - he
made a few more Pop films, and then disappeared into television, especially as
the eternal partner of Harald Juhnke with which he turned the sketch series
"Harald and Eddi".

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Esther Williams, the swimming champion turned movie star,
has died at age 91.

Williams' publicist Harlan Boll says she died early
Thursday in her sleep.

Williams became one of Hollywood's biggest moneymakers in
the 1940s and '50s, appearing in spectacular swimsuit numbers that capitalized
on her wholesome beauty and perfect figure.

Such films as "Easy to Wed," ''Neptune's
Daughter" and "Dangerous When Wet" followed the same formula:
romance, music, a bit of comedy and a flimsy plot that provided excuses to get
Esther into the water.

The extravaganzas dazzled a second generation via
television and the compilation films "That's Entertainment."
Williams' co-stars included the pick of the MGM contract list, including Gene
Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Red Skelton, Ricardo Montalban and Howard Keel.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Jean Stapleton, who played Archie Bunker’s long-suffering
wife Edith in the long-running 1970s television series “All in the Family,”
died Friday at her New York City home. She was 90.

Stapleton died of natural causes, her family announced
Saturday.

She had been a veteran of stage, film and television when
she was cast in the CBS sitcom opposite Carroll O’Connor’s loud-mouthed,
bigoted Archie Bunker, who often addressed her as "dingbat." She won
three Emmys for the role.

“The benign, compassionate presence she developed made my
egregious churl bearable,” O'Connor wrote of Stapleton in his 1998
autobiography. He died in 2001.

Born in New York City on Jan. 19, 1923, Stapleton was the
daughter of a billboard advertising salesman and an opera singer.

In 1949, she got a break when she was cast in the
national touring company of “Harvey.” Many characters later in summer stock,
regional and off-Broadway plays, Stapleton starred as a wisecracking waitress
in 1953 Broadway production of “In the Summer House.”

Stapleton went on to a feature role as Sister in “Damn
Yankees,” singing the hit tune “You've Gotta Have Heart,” and reprised the role
in the 1958 film. She also appeared in both the stage and film versions of “The
Bells Are Ringing” as Sue, the proprietor of Susanswerphone Service. And she
originated the role of Mrs. Strakosh in “Funny Girl,” which made a Broadway
star of Barbra Streisand.

Stapleton is survived by her children, television
producer Pamela Putch and film and television director John Putch.

Italian film editor Nino Baragli died in Rome on May 29,
2013. He was 88.

Born in Rome on October 1, 1925 as Giovanni Baragli, he
was introduced into the film industry by his uncle Eraldo Da Roma [1900-1981].
He started his career in 1944 as a film operator and assistant editor on “Marinai
senza stele” by Francesco De Robertis.

About Me

Born in Toledo, Ohio in 1946 I have a BA degree in American History from Cal St. Northridge. I've been researching the American West and western films since the early 1980s and visiting filming sites in Spain and the U.S.A. Elected a member of the Spaghetti Western Hall of Fame 2010.